Republicans were 'shell-shocked' and 'shaken' by Trump's behavior in Pelosi meeting

No wonder House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walked out of that Wednesday meeting with Donald Trump.

A Republican “with knowledge of the meeting” told CNN that Trump is “not in control of himself” and was “yelling and screaming” during the meeting, which was held to discuss Trump’s disastrous decision to abandon the United States’ Kurdish allies by pulling troops from Syria and allowing Turkey to invade the Kurds’ territory.

“Republican members were shaken by what they saw and heard,” the source told CNN, adding that the people in the room were “shell-shocked.”

That description seems entirely consistent with photographs Trump himself tweeted out of the meeting.

In a now well recognizable photo of Pelosi standing up to Trump, Republicans seated around the table look sullen as Trump can be seen sneering at Pelosi.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise has his head down in the upper right of the photo, while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, in the front right of the image, also has his eyes closed during Trump’s outburst. A military official seated next to Trump has a similar expression.

Nervous Nancy's unhinged meltdown! pic.twitter.com/RDeUI7sfe7

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2019

Pelosi herself described Trump’s behavior as a “meltdown,” an assessment the GOP source did not dispute to CNN.

“I have never seen anything like it. No one in the room has ever seen anything like it,” the source told CNN.

Unsurprisingly, the White House denied that Trump acted in a way unbecoming of a president, or really any adult in a work setting.

“The President was measured, factual and decisive, while Speaker Pelosi’s decision to walk out was baffling, but not surprising,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who has still yet to have an on-camera briefing, said in a statement.

But as they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words. Trump clearly melted down, and even Republicans are worried about his mental state.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.